FL Lake Erie Crushers

Top of Lake Erie order reaches 11 times in 11-2 victory

July 14, 2012 - Frontier League (FL)
Lake Erie Crushers News Release


O'FALLON, Mo. - The top of the Lake Erie batting order reached 11 times on Saturday night and scored seven of Lake Erie's 11 runs, as the Crushers came away with an 11-2 victory over the River City Rascals at T.R. Hughes ballpark to claim another series victory.

The victory for the Crushers (27-23) marks their seventh series victory on the road this season, and their sixth consecutive victory in a series opener, while the loss for the Rascals (26-24) leaves them winless in five tries against the Crushers this season.

Lake Erie took advantage of a throwing error in the top of the first to take the early lead. Adrian Ortiz began the game with a base hit, before moving to second on J.C. Figueroa's sacrifice bunt. Ortiz then stole third, and Charlie Lisk's throw to third in an attempt catch Ortiz hit off of third baseman Josh Workman's glove, allowing Ortiz to score.

River City tied the game in the bottom of the second. Paul Fagan (5-3) retired the first two batters of the inning, before plunking Workman on a 2-2 pitch. Three straight singles followed. Matt Serna's base hit scored Workman, and the next batter, Curran Redal singled to left field. Chris Andreas tried to score on the play, but he was thrown out at the dish by Kellen Kulbacki in left.

The Crushers put the game away with a five run third inning. They sent eight batters to the plate, and scored five times on three hits. They had the bases loaded with one out, when Andrew Davis stroked a single to center, scoring Ortiz in the process. Preston Vancil (2-6) then struck out Kulbacki for the second out, before Daniel Bowman hit his first professional homerun. The Grand Slam was Lake Erie's third of the year, and put them ahead, 6-1.

Lake Erie used the long ball again to extend their lead in the top of the fifth inning, when Andrew Davis clubbed his second solo shot of the series, and his fifth of the season.

River City plated their final run in the bottom of the fifth. Andreas started the inning with a base hit, and came around on a groundout from Eric Williams.

Figueroa started the sixth inning with a base hit, and made his way to third after walks were issued to Jason Taylor and Russ Moldenhauer. Robby Kuzdale drove Figueroa home on a sacrifice fly.

The Crushers plated their final three runs in the top of the eighth inning. Ortiz and Figueroa started the frame with back-to-back singles, setting up Taylor's colossal three-run bomb to left. The homer, was his second of the series, and his eighth of the season.

Fagan tossed seven strong innings, and allowed just a pair of runs on five hits with six strikeouts to snag the victory. Vancil was crushed by Lake Erie once again. He allowed seven runs, six earned on eight hits over 4.2 innings and suffered the loss.

Four players hit safely multiple times for the Crushers. Ortiz, Figueroa, and Bowman led the way with three hits apiece, while Davis hit safely twice on the night. In addition to Taylor's three run homer, he also walked four times, and extended his on base streak to 34 games.

The Crushers will finish their series against the River City Rascals at T.R. Hughes Ballpark on Sunday night. Right hander Eric Gonzalez-Diaz (4-4, 4.33) will start for the Crushers, and the Rascals will counter with right hander Keli'i Zablan (3-2, 3.75). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

Check out the Lake Erie Crushers Statistics



Frontier League Stories from July 14, 2012


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